This is the on-going tale of a Mom and her adjustment to the changing times of her life. About two and a half years ago, the Bean family moved to Jordan from the US. This blog is about MommaBean's new experiences as a foreigner in a wonderful new land, transition from a working Mom to a stay at home one to an entrepreneur, and various other thoughts as they may occur.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sarah Palin: Supermom? C'mon...

So my eye was caught by an intersting headline on msn and I found myself checking out an article about people dreaming of Sarah Palin. No, not wistful thinking or longing, actua, night time dreams. Here's the article ->http://www.slate.com/id/2199661/?GT1=38001.

But the reason, I'm blogging it is a comment the author made that I find really off. He said, "Palin's supermom abilities provoke envy and anxiety in women, especially other working mothers."

Supermom? Really is she a supermom? Hmm, I think I'd regular be a plain old vanilla mom then. I find it truly astonishing that unwed teenage pregnancy has gone from an embarrassment that demonstrates bad parenting (as spun by the Fox News pundits) with Hollywood celebrities to a poster situation for the anti-abortion people. How does that work exactly? And, do I need to have one of the Beans become pregnant out of wedlock, unable to support themselves, and living either on my dime or the government's to be a "supermom"? Is that REALLY what America thinks?

You know, I'm all for family values, but teenage pregnancy is not one my family's values. If I were Sarah Palin (shoot even just being plain old MommaBean) I'd chafe very uncomfortably under the label "supermom". How does one live up to that? I guess I'd consider MemeBean more of a SuperMom than Sarah Palin. After all, she raised 2 children alone (and not by her choice). She lived on a government salary and managed to keep us clothed, fed, and housed. Her son also went into the military and served his country. Her daughter even managed to make it to adulthood before become a Mom. So, here we go, I'm electing MemeBean as the Uber-Supermom... Take THAT, Sarah Palin (teehee)!

Seriously though, I think we should be a bit more thoughtful about throwing around terms that imply someone is great at something. And as a working mother (have been since ButterBean was a baby), I assure you I feel neither envy nor anxiety about her "supermom" abilities. I'll trust in God that He will help me be the best, godly Mom I can be. For me, that's plenty enough challenge...

9 Comments:

Nice Post.I agree with you. I think Palin was just thrust into the lime light by the Republicans and is being marketed by their pundits and surrogates as a super political and social figure.

Please, what did she do to be this super ??!! Leave it to the spin masters here and there to make a hero out of a zero.

I am getting quite annoyed by all the fuss about her. Enough. People have been talking about her and neglecting the McCain campaign. She is walking around using flat-out lies in her stump speeches (as proved by many media sources), and yet she shows no sign of hesitation.

I wonder how does it feel for women to see that the choice of picking her was not despite her gender, but primarily because of it. From the moment she stepped in she and the pundits have been focusing on her being a woman. Really ? Does anatomy play such a major role in elections these days ?

The pundits also managed to turn every single questioning of her past and credentials into an issue of sexism. If it were to me, i would say she is representing the female gender very badly in that regards.

Ahh .. it seems as i said, if the pundits say it enough times, it'll become fact .. regardless of the truth.

well,the counter-argument is easy Momma, "every family has it's own share of problems,and teenage pregnancy is common -yes its wrong- but people can relate to her" !You know America better than i do, that argument would sell.wouldn't it ?plus,being a mom is the hardest job on Earth right ? how about raising 5 and being a governor ?its not that i agree or disagree with the Supermom thingi ,but i guess thats how the publisher thought "or wanted the readers to think" when he called her supermom .

Za3tar, I would agree that she isn't representing what I would hope for, but... At some point, I hope they'll be able to get beyond gender and get to the issues.

Naser, yes, every family has its problems. But not every family parades its underage pregnant unwed daughter as if she's done smething laudable are heroic. Oh, and I think being a Stay At home Mom is the hardest job on earth. those of us that work get a break...

Oh, and I'm not sure how well this will play for her. I should be their target demographic (working Mom, bunches of little ones running around, educated) and I don't relate to her. It just kind of pisses me off that so much is being made of her "family values". But then, I wasn't a Hillary Democrat (Bill yes, Hillary no), so I guess I'm not in their demographic...

maybe if you were a white Rep who doesn't want Obama to be in office but weren't so sure about McCain then you'd tell yourself : "OH,OMG OMG OMG ,I CAN TOTALLY RELATE TO HER,I'M VOTING MCCAIN NOW" .ay the other day a MAN said "She understands me" !!a man !

I planned to vote for Obama originally. I consider myself neither democrat or republican. I vote based on issues, and who I agree with. No, I don't always agree with everything. My brother is in Iraq, so I as much as everyone else am ready for the war to end. The economy sucks....I as well as most everyone else am ready for "change". I no longer go to the grocery store and buy what we want, but what we have to have. Gas is killing me. I have two children, but when I was a young college student I became pregnant (by the "man" I planned to marry and had been with 7 years)After telling him he split, and because I was only six weeks I thought it was best to have an abortion. Am I proud of it? Absolutely not. Althought I am pro choice... I think it is 100% wrong to abort past the first trimester unless for a medical reason. I think Palin is helping John McCain's image honeslty. I think that the reason he is getting ahead in the polls is because everyone is giving her such a hard time in the media. I can't tell you how many people I have talked to that have said they were not voting McCain, but are now because democrats are beign so awful to her. I agree with Obama on some issues and McCain on others. When I hear idiots like Genine Geraffalo (sp?) talk it only makes me want to vote for McCain more. Supermom...maybe not, but at least she hasn't been preached to by Jerimiah Wright for the past twenty years. After all...he said white people have not evolved yet. Hmm...One thing I also disagree with Obama on is he voted against English as our language. That puzzles me...what should it be?

Gosh! Thanks for the appelation! You and your brother were terrific people from the beginning. And I didn't spend as much time with you as I now wish I had, but you certainly gave a lot of motivation. I'm glad you turned out so well. But I think YOU ARE a superMom. Especially with Helper Bean there with you. How many Moms do you know who do art projects with the kids each week and are happy to take in others who want to come and do it too? And helping them to learn about all that our Lord means and has done for us. Way to go Super 3BeanMom! MemeBean

About Me

I am an entrepreneur and Mom to three lovely beans. I'm originally from Alabama and currently live in Jordan. Professionally, I've spent the last 15 years in and about Project Management and Consulting with a variety of companies large and small.